• Skua@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    7 months ago

    It does still use less water than cow milk though, so if someone switches from cow milk to almond milk then it’s still a net improvement in terms of water usage

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      7 months ago

      True but the cow is also used for things like beef once slaughtered. A nut on the other hand is simply used up after being harvested.

      A lot of the cow water figures get complicated quickly as well since various calculations either include or ignore indirect water usage. Things like water usage for their feed. Or whether the water usage is counting across an entire cows average lifespan, including slaughter and all byproducts, or just the water usage while the cow is producing milk.

      This makes it hard to directly compare to something more simple like growing a nut or oats where the end product is essentially singular. There are a lot of variables to consider when trying to compare to a product from a farmed animal.

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        7 months ago

        The more steps of complexity there are in the system the less efficient it is, this seems incredibly obvious to me? Turning plants into cow flesh is less efficient than just eating plants.